Draperies



Nov. 21, 1950 c. BASHWINER 2,530,593

DRAPERIES Filed July 7, 1945 jf'gi! 11 INVENTOR (fiarlzs ids/aw?! BY a ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 21, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT. orrlcs DRAPERIES Charles Bashwiner, Great River, N. Y.

Application July 7, 1945, Serial No. 603,623

(01. ISO-39) Claims.

This invention relates to draperies or ornamental frames which may be made of wood or cardboard, and is herein disclosed in some detail as embodied in a plywood structure adapted to simulate draperies or hangings and adjustable to various sizes to meet varying circumstances.

Modern housekeepers demand of modern household furnishings that they be so designed as to gather minimum amounts of dust, thus avoiding one of the great objections to draperies, and at the same time they demand that the equipment be easily set up, be purchasable ready-made, either ready for use or easily ornamented at home, and that it remain satisfactory for long times. Thus the furnishings for a playroom must be able to withstand considerable abuse and be easily replaceable.

Moreover, exigencies of merchandising demand that the equipment sold shall easily be made to fit a wide variety of sized locations and yet that few sizes be carried in stock. For that reason, the equipment carried in stock must be both attractive and adjustable. Other furnishings used in other locations involve parallel problems and parallel limitations.

According to the present invention, the foregoing difiiculties and objections are overcome and a rigid,'smooth structure is provided which may imitate draperies and yet gathers substantially no dust, may be readily adjustable to fit various locations, is strong, economical to build, withstands considerable abuse and is adapted, if desired, to be shipped or stored knocked down.

In the form shown in some detail, the structure may be made of cardboard but is especially adapted to be made of three-ply plywood, thus providing a non-warping, strong, yet light, device, well-adapted to be cut out of standard boards with standard tools, and providin a smooth surface easily decorated by printing, stencilling or painting procedures, either at a factory or at home, if the material is sold unfinished.

In the form shown, the structure includes a valance unit and two curtain units adapted to be slid into holding devices in the valance unit, thus providing a knock-down structure which may be adiustable to various widths by sliding the curtain units into the valance unit to a greater or less distance.

Moreover, the valance unit may be readily cut 7 down to shorter length, thus fitting the structure to various w dths of doors, windows or other 10- cations. Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

It is, therefore. an object of the'invention to 2 provide a labor-saving drapery, which may be readily dusted off and which does not requiredry cleaning.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drapery device which fits a wide variety of locations and sizes and yet can be adequately kept in stock in one or tWo sizes only.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rugged yet highly ornamental substitute for draperies.

Another object of the invention is to provide an easily shipped and easily set up ornamental device.

Another object of the invention is to provide an economically constructed, strong ornamental device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a form of drapery which the purchaser may inspect in advance and thus see the effect before investing in it.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled device;

Fig. 2 is a top sectional view of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional side view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective rear view of a curtain member; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective rear view of one end of the valance member.

In the form shown, a front top valance member ID extends from end to end of the structure and is cemented or nailed to a top shelf or roof member II. The shelf or roof member II is usually left unornamented, while the valance member ID is usually out along a wavy line l2 at its bottom and its front surface [3 is usually suitably Ornamented by a printed or otherwise applied fiat design.

The valance member ID is illustrated as adapted to support a curtain member I4 at each end, and in the form shown the curtain member l4 carries a slide 15 with underc t Edges l6 adapted to be slid in between rails I! having undercut facing sides I8, and fastened on the back of the valance member. Thus the curta n member 14 may he sl d along the back of the valence member I 0 and will be supported by its ide I5 wherever pos tioned.

In the form shown, a slidable curtain member I4 is provided at each end of the valance member ID, and each curtain member includes a backwardly extending wall or end member I9 cemented or nailed to it along its outer edge, closing it and strengthening it. Each curtain member I4 is cut in ornamental curves along its inner edge 20, and carries a make-believe tieback 2| at a suitable height along a diagonal line.

The device is easily built of plywood and the valance member It with its rails I! may be sawed off to fit almost any desired space, or if not intended to be sawed off, a stop 22 between each pair of rails I! may serve to arrest the curtain members at the desired point when pushed inward.

Thus the device is admirably adapted for department store or other sales and convenient to erect, easy to maintain, easy to keep clean, attractive and not easily damaged, filling alto- 'gether a much-needed spot in housekeeping ornaamental equipment, and easily knocked down for :shipment 'or storage.

As various changes may be made in the form, :construction and arrangement of the parts here- :in without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, "it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sens-e.

Having thus described one embodiment of the invention, what is claimed is:

.1. In a device of the class described, the combination of valance means having a front-mem- .-,ber lying in substantially a single plane, a pair of curtain means each having a front member lying in substantially a single plane and each disposed rearwardly of said valance means front vmember, and means intermediate adjacent faces of the front members of said curtain and valance means spaceably supporting the pair of curtain ,means with respect to each other comprising first guiding and support means mounted on the rear face of said valance means front member and sec- .ond guiding and support means mounted on the front face of each of the front members of said curtain means.

2. In a device of the class described, a valance member including a front wall with a substantially planar rear face, first guiding and supporting means projecting rearwardly from said rear face, an end piece positioned behind said rear face and provided with a substantially planar front face, second guiding and supporting means 4 complementary to said first guiding and supporting means projecting forwardly from said front face of the end piece and extending substantially entirely across said front face, said first and second guiding and supporting means normally engaging with each other to hold said end piece with the valance member and guide them during adjustments.

3. In a device of the class described, a valance member including a vertical front wall, retaining means carried by said vertical front wall at the rear surface thereof, a vertical end member having retaining means thereon at the front surface thereof complementary to and slidably engaging with the retaining means of said vertical front wall, and a stop at an inwardly disposed endof the retaining means for limiting the extent of inward movement of the end member.

4. In a device of the class described, a valance member including a rearwardly extending shelf portion and a-depending front wall, guiding and supporting means at the rear surface of said front wall, an end member having guiding and supporting means at the front surface thereof normally slidably engaging the guiding and supporting means of said front Wall and having an upper edge portion normally slidably engaging an under surface of said shelf portion.

5. In a device of the class described, a valance member including a rearwardly extending Wall and a lateralfront wall, a pair of longitudinally extending outwardly projecting rails at the rear surface of said front wall, an end piece having a longitudinally extending outwardly projecting .rail at the front surface thereof normally slidably engaging with said pair of rails, and said end piece having a free upper edge portion substantially parallel with said rails and normally slidably engaging a lower surface of said rearwardly extending wall.

CHARLES BASHWINER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 127,367 Pohl -I May 28, 187.2 131,551 Lloyd. Sept. 24, 1872 228,128 Shipley May 25, 1890 1,611,003 Dearwester Dec. 14, 1926 2,247,954 Levaggi July 1, 19.41 

